Permablitz #193 – Fairfield

The Fairfield blitz taught us a lot: how to stand up for our rights (and know the council regulations), make (seed) bombs, build a chook Taj Mahal and most importantly learn about the pleasures of home produced honeycomb.

So what is your favourite way to really annoy your neighbours? Could it be an uncontrolled 21st birthday party, learning how to play the drums, or leaving a lonely but vocal puppy home alone? All these are tried and true guaranteed neighbour annoyances – but nobody wants to have a forcibly euthanatised puppy on their conscience…

Over the weekend we discovered what will send a previously cordial neighbour running for her fountain pen and indulging in a somewhat bygone activity of writing a letter to the respective council… What abhorrent activity could lead to such extreme consequences?!? Why, the creation of an edible verge, of course! It’s the sure-fire method of getting to know your once-civilised neighbours.

This nature strip is the ideal spot for a veggie garden

Fiona & Michelle prepare for some sheet mulching

Later in the afternoon, it’s all looking good!

The nature strip garden will need the cover crop to grow then we’re planting vegetable seedlings for summer.

So firstly: know your rights and don’t get intimidated. Councils generally allow the existence of the verge gardens. In the case of the City of Darebinthere is no need for a formal permission, just a notification of the intent and meeting the regulation such as height of the plants and their proximity to the edge. Buttering up the neighbours prior to creating an “eyesore” can help as well. (In fact, we heartily recommend it!) And after the initial teething period, haters will become silverbeet-munching lovers.

So who was responsible for a bit of Fairfield neighbourhood commotion on this quiet afternoon? Anyone who has ever done more than a couple of blitzes have met Chali, a regular permablitz designer and facilitator. After contributing to the makeovers of innumerable back/front/side yards she decided that it’s time to start on her wasteland of the rental property yard.

Preparing timber for the chook-house frame

A-frame magic!

Chali, however, could not resist her pet transformation, the verge garden.

Of course, the project did not stop there. It was actually jam packed with:

pond building (water for the bees and vegetation for the humans),

seed bombs for the bees (a ball of clay, compost and flower/herb seeds),

chook pen construction,

weeding, weeding, weeding… and weeding!

Planting out the pond…

YUM!!!

The almost complete pond

Every blitz volunteer knows that the surest way to their heart is through their stomach. I strongly recommend encouraging Chali to have a follow-up blitz just for the sake of her delicious curries! And honeycomb from her resident bees…

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About Permablitz Melbourne

Welcome to Permablitz Melbourne - where we get together and have fun learning about, designing and implementing suburban permaculture systems. Our focus is edible gardens, and our ultimate aim is to make the suburbs edible enough such that should food become unaffordable, we don’t even notice.